My hands were like ice blocks. The only feeling I hard was one of painful stinging. My face and nose were burning from the wind blowing and salt water lashing against it. After about an hour of getting punished by the elements I could no longer put up with the burns and the putting my hands under the water trick wasn’t working anymore! The cold was constant and there was no escaping. My body was warm, my head was fine with the hood, and the 7mm boots kept my feet toasty, but my hands were exposed and suffering. The thick wetsuit was not a problem, my suits are warm and flexible but my hands and face were the big problem.
It was nice to have Ben out with me, finally someone who will come sailing whatever the weather is. Our focus out on the water was on sailing, surviving, and blocking out the pain from our hands. I should have kept my van down next to the beach, as it was impossible to drive to the seafront the following day. When Ventnor gets snow, it pretty much shuts down and you have to get around by foot, which can be very slippery. I went surfing the next day and it was very good, but I had to slide on my ass down the hills all the way to the beach. Walking back up was frustratingly slow and my feet were numb, even with my 7mm boots. All in all it was a pretty extreme couple of days, but as they say ‘No pain no gain!’ ”